Evaluation of an Undergraduate Research Experience: Perceptions of Undergraduate Interns and Their Faculty Mentors.

This study evaluated the extent to which 14 research skills were enhanced by science undergraduates' participation in an undergraduate research experience (URE). Fifty-seven undergraduates self-rated their ability to perform the skills at the beginning and end of the URE. Faculty mentors' ratings of their respective interns' skills served as an objective measure of intern skill level. Mentor and intern data revealed that the URE enhanced some skills better than others. At the end of the URE, female interns rated their ability to understand concepts in their field significantly lower than did male interns. Female interns also tended to perceive less of an increase in their ability to formulate research hypotheses than did male interns.

[1]  Richard Pearson,et al.  Women in science and engineering , 1985, Nature.

[2]  J. Meece,et al.  Socialization of Achievement Attitudes and Beliefs: Classroom Influences. , 1982 .

[3]  Y. Dori,et al.  Question-posing capability as an alternative evaluation method: Analysis of an environmental case study , 1999 .

[4]  Scientific Apprenticeship and the Role of Public Schools: General Education of a Better Kind. , 1998 .

[5]  H. Kay.  HUMAN LEARNING. , 1964, British medical bulletin.

[6]  Michael Shodell,et al.  The Question-Driven Classroom: Student Questions as Course Curriculum in Biology. , 1995 .

[7]  Thomas J. Shuell,et al.  Teaching and learning in a classroom context. , 1996 .

[8]  E. Gagné.  The cognitive psychology of school learning , 1985 .

[9]  D. Boud,et al.  Student Self-Assessment in Higher Education: A Meta-Analysis , 1989 .

[10]  Sue V. Rosser,et al.  Female-Friendly Science: Applying Women's Studies Methods and Theories to Attract Students , 1990 .

[11]  R. M. Hall,et al.  The Classroom Climate: A Chilly One for Women?. , 1982 .

[12]  Herbert S. Lin,et al.  They’re Not Dumb, They’re Different: Stalking the Second Tier , 1991 .

[13]  Lisa S. Leach.  Sexual Harassment In Chemistry Classrooms: Three Students' Experiences , 1995 .

[14]  J. L. Seago.  The Role of Research in Undergraduate Instruction , 1992 .

[15]  E. Seymour,et al.  Talking About Leaving: Why Undergraduates Leave The Sciences , 1997 .

[16]  Robert G. Bringle,et al.  The Effects of an Intensive Research Experience on the Careers of Talented Undergraduates. , 1990 .

[17]  L. Rennie,et al.  Ameliorating gender differences in attitudes about science: A cross-national study , 1993 .

[18]  Myra Sadker,et al.  Is the O.K. Classroom O.K. , 1985 .

[19]  A. Collins,et al.  Situated Cognition and the Culture of Learning , 1989 .

[20]  N. Betz.  Career counseling for women in the sciences and engineering. , 1994 .

[21]  Kenneth Tobin,et al.  Windows into Science Classrooms: Problems Associated with Higher-Level Cognitive Learning. , 1990 .

[22]  W. Walsh,et al.  Career counseling for women , 1994 .